Vacant Storefronts Linger at New Condos

In the Mission this past year, at least four large mixed use developments have opened their glittering modern doors for amenity-rich housing to those who can afford it (and, in the case of about 50 out of 270 households, those who got lucky in an affordable housing lottery).

In almost every case, before a building has even finished construction, the market-rate residential units get scooped up quick—units at the 3500 19th Street development sold for a record breaking rate of $1400 a square foot. But to say these buildings are at full capacity omits a glaring on-the-ground truth: the street level commercial spaces frequently remain vacant – for months or even a year or more.

The mixed use building Vara on 15th Street opened in July of last year. Its 155 market-rate rental units have been steadily leased off—their leasing office says, these apartments are 90 percent occupied—yet the three commercial spaces have been vacant for more than a year. Dominating an entire corner at 15th and Mission, Vara’s windows – plastered with real estate posters and marred with frequent graffiti – are looking less than luxurious.

The same goes for the 3500 19th Street project on a prominent Valencia Street corner. Its steeply priced 17 condominiums sold steadily after going on the market in October of 2013. But for nine months the cosmetics retailer The Balm has been a lone outpost on the ground floor where three other glass walled vacancies have endured. For passersby, the spaces are an arresting emptiness in a corridor known for its vibrant street life and lively shopping scene.